Crystal Ball Stumpers 4 Trivia Quiz

Answer: machicolate

Won by invinoveritas of team Pi in the Sky on 8 June, 2017, machicolate means to construct bottomless projecting galleries along the top of the walls of castles. These were used to protect those who would lean out over the walls of the castles to drop stones, or boiling water or fat, down upon the heads of the enemy assailing the castle doors or attempting to scale the castle walls.

Answer: Anadiplosis

Won by satguru from team classicalmusic/mensan on June 11, 2017, nadiplosis is defined as the repetition of the last word used in a previous sentence or clause, which used again to commence the follow-up sentence or clause. An example of this could be, "When I heard my cooking had won first prize, I was overjoyed! Overjoyed I tell you!"

Answer: Mobcap

Won by Mazza47 from team The Cat People on June 11, 2017, a mobcap was a round head covering or bonnet with a pleated edge that was usually worn indoors by women during the Georgian period of history. Some of these were fabulously frilled and pleated on the heads of the wealthier women, but plain and simple affairs on the heads of women on the lower end of the socio-economic scale. So fashionable were mobcaps considered to be by the ladies of this era that they even left them on under shadier hats when they went outdoors.

In follow up eras, they can usually be seen, in paintings and sketches, on the heads of maids and indoor servants in large houses.

Answer: Acrostic

Won by wally119 of no team on June 11, 2017, an acrostic is a hidden word or message that is concealed in a poem. This takes the form of the first letter in the first word (or occasionally the first syllable or word) of each line of the poem. Acrostics were particularly popular in medieval literature. An example of a romantic acrostic sent by a hopeful swain to the lady of his heart, begging for her favours, could be as follows:

Like roses, forlorn, in the shade
Observed by none but me
Vain they weep to know the sun
Evening, morn, their plea
Many hopes are perfumed sent
Endlessly to thee.

Answer: Dysphagia

Won by cecil1 of team Atheist Quizzers on June 13, 2017, dysphagia is a medical condition in which the sufferer has difficulty in swallowing. The word itself originates from the Greek "dys" (which means bad) and "phag" which means to eat. This condition, while classified as a medical problem in its own right, is often associated with other problems such as odynophagia (pain when swallowing), but is not itself painful. If overlooked in the diagnosis process, or left unattended to, dysphagia can develop into pneumonia, malnutrition or kidney failure.

Answer: Binnacle

This word was won by 22crows of team Australian Players on June 13, 2017. Generally positioned where the helmsman works on a ship, a binnacle is a stand containing navigational instruments, which, at a glance, can be easily referred to by the helmsman.

When first constructed in the 18th century, binnacles contained several compasses, an oil lamp for night work, and a sand timer to allow the helmsman to calculate the speed at which the ship was travelling. The very first binnacles were made using iron nails, though, and these, as you can imagine, caused problems with the compass readings. Later on, as the ships themselves moved from wood to iron construction, more compass false readings occurred.

This was overcome to a degree by placing iron objects in strategic positions around the binnacle to compensate, but eventually, a new type of binnacle was invented, incorporating compensating magnets that could be altered as needed.

Answer: lachrymation

Won by Mommakat of team The Lost Connection on June 14, 2017, lachrymation is the formation of tears in our eyes. This occurs as either a physiological or emotional response to a stimulus. Physiologically, they form to clean the eyes of irritants, to keep the eyeballs moist, as a reaction to some irritant such as strong smoke or peeling raw onions, or by constant yawning or hearty laughter. Emotionally, our tears can be a reaction to sorrowful, joyous, or even romantic stimuli.

Answer: Sinciput

Won by miner8625 of team All 50 States on June 14, 2017, sinciput is an anatomical word that describes the area of the human skull from the forehead going up to the crown of the head. It's the location of the brain's frontal lobe, the area of the brain where our higher order thinking takes place, where we do our planning, make our choices, consider consequences, where we are motivated to carry out various tasks, and where our short term memories are processed before being transferred, if those memories are meaningful, into the longer term memory areas of our brains. Damage to this area of our brain, by disease or trauma, can have terrible effects on the individual.

The brain is SO fascinating to study.

Answer: Anemography

Won by mazza47 of team The Cat People on June 15, 2017, wind speed can be measured by different devices, from simple home made constructions to sophisticated scientific equipment. These all go under the general headings of anemometers. There is a fascinating article on how to make your own anemometer on the internet (Scientific American), just by using various everyday objects such as paper cups, ruler and straws - and then how to actually calculate the speed the wind is travelling by using basic arithmetic. Even more interesting, and in very easy to understand terms, it tells you how wind is formed as well - no Johnny, don't be vulgar, dear - wind is created when areas of high pressure travel to areas where pressure is lower.

They liken this to air escaping from an inflated balloon.

Answer: Feoff

Won by FT player fringe of team Wisdom of the Fool on June 15, 2017, feoff is the act of investing or granting an estate, or large area of land, or even a position of authority, to a person of lower rank who has usually provided a loyal service of some kind - particularly in times of war - to the King of the land.

This granting of the fief - along with the conditions that it can be passed down to future generations through inheritance - was an essential part of feudalism. It was a fascinating system from the historical perspective, and worked particularly well for those on the top end of the chain, but for those at the lower end - the serfs who worked the lands of the Lords for little benefit in return - it was not anything wonderful to exclaim about. That, however, depended on the Lord for whom you worked.

Its most negative effect was that the serfs were locked into a class system from which they could never escape unless especially gifted in some way.